System monitoring is a critical aspect of maintaining the health and performance of any computer, including those running macOS. Whether you're a developer, IT professional, or an everyday user, understanding how to monitor system performance can help you troubleshoot issues, optimize resource usage, and ensure your system is running smoothly. This article will guide you through the various tools and commands available on macOS for system monitoring.

Examples:

1. Using Activity Monitor: Activity Monitor is a built-in utility in macOS that provides a graphical interface to monitor system performance.

   • Steps to open Activity Monitor:

     1. Open Finder.
     2. Navigate to Applications > Utilities.
     3. Double-click on Activity Monitor.

   • Features:

     • CPU: View the current CPU usage by processes.
     • Memory: Monitor the memory usage and swap space.
     • Energy: Check the energy impact of running applications.
     • Disk: Observe disk activity and data read/write rates.
     • Network: Monitor network usage and data sent/received.

2. Using Terminal Commands: For those who prefer command-line tools, macOS provides several commands to monitor system performance.

   • top: The top command provides a real-time view of system processes, similar to Activity Monitor but in a text-based format.

     top

   • vm_stat: The vm_stat command displays virtual memory statistics.

     vm_stat

   • iostat: The iostat command reports CPU and I/O statistics.

     iostat

   • netstat: The netstat command displays network statistics.

     netstat -i

3. Using Third-Party Applications: There are also several third-party applications available for more advanced system monitoring on macOS.

   • iStat Menus: iStat Menus is a popular third-party application that provides detailed system monitoring directly from the menu bar.

   • MenuMeters: MenuMeters is another tool that offers similar functionality, displaying various system metrics in the menu bar.